Newsletter – February, 2013

On My Mind

Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen of Norway removed any doubt recently as to who is the Number One chess player in the world by winning the 75th Tata Steel Chess Tournament held in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Carlsen won seven games and drew six against thirteen formidable opponents. Levon Aronian of Armenia finished second and Viswanathan Anand of India finished third. Of the ninety-one games that were played in the top grandmaster class, “White” won twenty-eight games (30.8% of the games), “Black” won thirteen games (14.3%), and there were fifty games that ended in a draw (54.9%). The player with the white pieces moves first to begin the game. The implication is that it was roughly twice as difficult to win while playing with the black pieces than with the white pieces. Hikaru Nakamura of the USA and Yifan Hou of China each won three games during the tournament all while playing with black pieces—what an accomplishment! You can read more about the tournament results at www.tatasteelchess.com.

Interesting Stories

So who really won? Be careful of using end-of-game/match scores to evaluate team performance. Sometimes winning is about who shows up! Warner-Northwestern (WN) recently defeated Ipswich-Leola (IL) in a South Dakota high school wrestling dual by a score of 42 to 24 according to the Aberdeen News (my tally came up with 36 to 24, but that is neither here-nor-there). A closer look at the fourteen individual matches reveals a more interesting story: 106 (pounds)—WN won by forfeit; 113—IL won by forfeit; 120—no match; 126—IL won by forfeit; 132—no match; 138—IL won by forfeit; 145—Tanner Moore of IL pinned Austin Dreyer of WN in 0:43 seconds; 152—no match; 160—WN won by forfeit; 170—no match; 182—WN won by forfeit; 195—WN won by forfeit; 220—WN won by forfeit; and 285—WN won by forfeit. Even though Warner-Northwestern won the dual, Ipswich-Leola won the only match in which someone actually wrestled. I hope these small-town wrestling teams survive.

Company News

I will be conducting a half day workshop on Implementing Hoshin Kanri for Competitive Advantage at the Minnesota ASQ Professional Development Summit on February 27, 2013. Go to www.mnasq.org/summit to register. Here is my 2013 public seminar schedule: Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement (May 9, 2013); Creating Standard Work (May 23, 2013); Leading Design Projects (June 6, 2013); and Measuring Performance Over Time (June 20, 2013). The public seminar brochures are accessible by selecting the “SERVICES” tab on the home page.

Intriguing Reads

I recently re-read Taiichi Ohno’s Workplace Management, the Special 100th Birthday Edition. The forward was written by Fujio Cho, Chairman of the Toyota Motor Corporation. This book explains some of the history of the Toyota Production System and some of the principles and techniques that helped shape it. This book is a must read for anyone who wants to understand where the modern-day Lean approach came from. While reading the book, I was reminded how important first principles and historical development are in shaping a field like strategic improvement.

 

Newsletter – January, 2013

On My Mind

If you are interested in strategy and have some spare time in January, then you should follow the 75th Tata Steel Chess Tournament held January 11-27, 2013 in Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands. Group A consists of fourteen grandmasters including several “Top Ten” world-ranked players: Magnus Carlsen (Norway, #1); Levon Aronian (Armenia, #3); Fabiano Caruana (Italy, #5); Sergey Karjakin (Russia, #6); Viswanathan Anand (India, #7); and Hikaru Nakamura (USA, #9). Levon Aronian won the tournament last year. Each player in Group A plays every other player during the tournament. The winner of each match earns 1 point whereas the loser receives 0 points. Each player earns ½ point for a draw. The ideal tournament score for a player is 13, but that outcome is unlikely considering the strength of the field. It is easy to follow the tournament at www.tatasteelchess.com. You can replay past games by selecting the “History” tab on the website home page and then selecting “Recent Tournaments.” May the brightest mind win!

Interesting Stories

Once upon a time there were syringes filled with performance enhancing drugs . . . The new inductees into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame will be announced January 9, 2013. Several players on the ballot allegedly used steroids during their career making it difficult to evaluate their performance. What we have here is a situation with many unknowns—we don’t know who took what drug when or how it affected their performance. I’m not sure what I would do if I were a voter. I just hope PED use is minimal now for the sake of the integrity of the game.

Company News

I will be conducting a half day workshop on Implementing Hoshin Kanri for Competitive Advantage at the Minnesota ASQ Professional Development Summit on February 27, 2013. I plan to offer four one-day public seminars in 2013 starting in April-May: Strategy Tools for Continuous Improvement; Creating Standard Work Using SDCA; Statistical Methods for Continuous Improvement; and Leading Design Projects. The public seminar schedule will be finalized by mid-January.

Intriguing Reads

The ancient Chinese game Go, like chess, is considered one of the best strategy games in the world. It is Asia’s most popular game of strategy. I purchased the book Go Fundamentals by Shigemi Kishikawa while in Hong Kong last year and recently took the time to read it. Go is a game played by two players using black and white stones positioned on a wood board with 324 (18 x 18) squares. The stronger player customarily uses the white stones and the weaker player uses the black stones. The objective of the game is to gain and occupy as much “territory” as possible. This book by Kishikawa teaches the basics of the game and how to get started. I especially liked the board illustrations and the “Problems” section. You can learn more about Go at www.gous.org. I can’t wait to play my first game.

 

 

Newsletter – December, 2012

On My Mind

Performance Measurement involves developing a set of performance metrics for a business unit, service line, department, agency, division, region, office, etc. A leader at any level in an organization should have a set of performance metrics for his/her area. It is now becoming a common practice to make performance metrics visible so that improvement opportunities can be identified and the effects of improvement activities determined. Here are seven principles that can be used to guide the development of a set of performance metrics: Relevance—measure what matters; Accountability–know who is accountable for each metric; Integrity–strive for “clean” data; Balance–develop metrics in multiple categories (such as Quality, Cost, Delivery, Safety, Education, Morale, etc.); Visibility–make the metrics visible; Accessibility—assure that employees have access to the metrics; and Actionable–use metrics that drive actions. Best wishes in developing your performance measurement system.

Interesting Stories

This is the first year that I participated in Black Friday. My daughter and I arrived at the Mall of America in the Twin Cities shortly before 4:00 a.m. I was expecting to see a lot of “crazy” shoppers stampeding for bargains, but that type of shopper was rare. There was a sense of excitement in the air and many of the stores were playing lively music and some store workers were dancing. It was interesting that there was a long queue of people waiting to enter the Apple Store before its opening at 6:00 a.m. The Microsoft store across the hallway appeared quiet. Overall it was a fun experience, but I probably won’t arrive until 6:00 a.m. next year.

Company News

I will be conducting a half day workshop on Implementing Hoshin Kanri for Competitive Advantage at the Minnesota ASQ Professional Development Summit on February 27, 2013. My public seminar schedule will be released in early January. Likely offerings will be Strategy Tools for Business Unit and Service Line Leaders; Creating Standard Work; and Building a Performance Measurement System.

Intriguing Reads

I studied the book titled, Essence of Decision: Explaining the Cuban Missile Crisis, by Graham T. Allison, for one of my Strategic Management courses during my doctoral studies. I have wanted to re-read the book for years, but never made the time. To my delight, I discovered a second edition existed, co-authored by Philip Zelikow, which contained significant changes. This book is a must read for anyone serious about strategy. It introduces the reader to several conceptual models that can be used to analyze emergent events and strategic issues.

 

Newsletter – November, 2012

On My Mind

My thoughts have been with the people affected by hurricane Sandy. Hopefully their lives will return to normalcy soon. On another topic . . . the current difficulties facing Panasonic, Sharp and Sony is hard to imagine. According to the Financial Times, “It has taken Japan’s electronics giants only five years to wipe out the profits of nearly two decades. If Panasonic, Sharp and Sony have theirs sums right . . . the combined Y3.7tn ($46bn) they will have lost by the end of this financial year is equivalent to their profits from the previous 18, according to Capital IQ data.” These are difficult times for some traditionally “excellent” companies. Motorola, Research In Motion, Nokia, Eastman Kodak, etc. It has become clear that excellence can be quite temporary.

Interesting Stories

There were two amazing individual performance feats in October that caught my eye. Felix Baumgartner, from Austria, broke three world records on October 14, 2012 during the Red Bull Stratos project according to Wikipedia: “As part of this project, he set the altitude record for a manned balloon flight, parachute jump from the highest altitude, and greatest free fall velocity. Another occurred on October 24, 2012. Pablo Sandoval of the San Francisco Giants joined Babe Ruth (1926, 1928), Reggie Jackson (1977), and Albert Pujols (2011) as the only Major League Baseball player to hit three home runs in one World Series game. Sandoval, nicknamed the “Kung Fu Panda,” hit a home run in his first three at bats—two of them against Justin Verlander who is one of the best pitchers in the major leagues. Sandoval was eventually awarded the World Series Most Valuable Player trophy.

Company News

The Fourth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference was held on October 16, 2012. It was a great success. The presenters were Jim Buckman, Jim Nelson, Dr. Andrew H. Van de Ven, Mike Degen, Dr. Randy Linton, Sheila Ward, Craig Swanson, Linda Nelson, Jeff Swanson, Cathy Reiter, Lloyd Brandon, Vern Campbell, Dave Brucks, Dr. Laura Preus, Lou Schultz, and myself. On another note, Dr. Roger G. Schroeder, Dr. Kevin Linderman, Dr. Adrian Choo, and myself were notified that our journal article titled, Six Sigma: Definition and Underlying Theory, was the top cited article in the Journal of Operations Management from 2007 to 2011.

Intriguing Reads

I recently read the book titled, Toyota Production System: An Integrated Approach to Just-In-Time, Fourth Edition, by Yasuhiro Monden. The earlier versions of this book were outstanding and so I thought I would give the Fourth Edition a try. The new content included a discussion of Toyota’s recent quality problems; eight new chapters including an interesting chapter on e-Kanban; and an Appendix titled, Reinforcing the JIT System after the Disasters of 3/11/2011, Japan. This is a must read book for anyone interested in gaining insights into the Toyota Production System.

 

Newsletter – October, 2012

On My Mind

The third quarter (Q3) recently ended for many companies—these are happy times for some and sad times for others. Strategic Management activities, such as strategic planning, will soon be initiated for 2013. Now is a good time to integrate Strategic Management activities with Hoshin Kanri (Policy Management) activities—as advocated by Dr. Hiroshi Osada of the Tokyo Institute of Technology in his 1998 paper in the Strategic Change journal titled, “Strategic Management by Policy in Total Quality Management.” The questions leaders ask this time of year and their sequence are quite important. The question, “How can we ‘get better’ in the eyes of our customers?” should be preceded by the strategic question, “Which customers should we attempt to serve in 2013?” The question, “How do we ‘optimize’ the performance of the manufacturing line?” should be preceded by the strategic question, “What products should we manufacture in 2013?” And the question, “How can we get our departments/divisions to work together?” should be preceded by the strategic question, “What should our organization chart look like in 2013?” Dr. Osada identified the Seven Strategic Tools (7-S Tools) which Quality Management professionals can master to help integrate their work with the Strategic Management process: Environment Analysis, Product Analysis, Market Analysis, Product-Market Analysis, Product Portfolio Analysis, Strategic Elements Analysis, and Resource Allocation Analysis. A Quality Management professional will become more valuable to his/her organization by mastering these tools.

Interesting Stories

Major League Baseball (MLB) can provide an interesting lens into organizational and individual performance—especially if you are a baseball enthusiast. The regular MLB season just ended and the playoffs begin soon. Here are three amazing 2012 performance stories. The Oakland Athletics, with the lowest payroll, came from thirteen games behind to win their division on the last game of the regular season. General Manager Billy Beane has demonstrated his amazing skills again this year (see Moneyball). Miguel Cabrera of the Detroit Tigers became the first player since 1967 (Carl Yastrzemski) to win the Triple Crown by leading the American League in Batting Average (.330), Home Runs (44), and Runs Batted In (139). Finally, three pitchers threw perfect games (no hits, walks, or errors in a full nine-inning game) this year: Philip Humber of the Chicago White Sox; Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants; and Felix Hernandez of the Seattle Mariners. Bring on the playoffs!

Company News

I hosted the 26th gathering of the Global Quality Futures Workshop group at the Oak Ridge Hotel & Conference Center in Chaska, MN. This is a group of twenty-plus Quality Management experts who meet somewhere in the world each year to learn with each other. Highlights of the session this year were twelve outstanding presentations and plant visits to Loram Maintenance of Way and Hutchinson Technology. Attending this year were Dr. Yoshinori Iizuka, Dr. Hiroshi Osada, Noriharu Kaneko, Yukihiro Ando, N. “Ram” Ramanathan, Kiran Deshmukh, Jane Seddon, Rebecca Seddon, Vern Campbell, Lou Schultz, Dr. Brian Joiner, Dr. Harold Haller, Ron Moen, John Vollum, Keith Setterholm, Dr. Kevin Little, Lloyd Brandon, David Badger, Kevin Church, and myself. On another note, I will be presenting on Advances in Hoshin Kanri at the October Program Meeting of the Minnesota Section of the American Society for Quality. The event will be held at the Kelly Inn in Plymouth the evening of October 9.

Intriguing Reads

The 3rd edition of the book titled, Quality Improvement Through Planned Experimentation is now available. It is authored by fellow Global Quality Futures Workshop members Ronald D. Moen, Thomas W. Nolan, and Lloyd P. Provost. This is one of the most practical books on performance improvement you will find. They skillfully integrate the System of Profound Knowledge, Production Viewed as a System, PDSA, Statistical Control Charts, and Design of Experiments. I especially enjoyed the chapters on Health Care and New Product Design.

 

Newsletter – September, 2012

On My Mind

Hoshin Kanri, also known as Policy Deployment and Policy Management, is a strategic improvement system that originated in Japan in the 1960s. It is one of the four core components of Total Quality Management along with Cross-Functional Management, Daily Management, and Small Group Activities. There is currently a lot of interest in Hoshin Kanri because of the popularity of the Toyota Production System. I recently conducted a study on “The Application of Policy Deployment in Indian Companies.” Four Deming Application Prize winners from India participated in my study and served as insight-stimulating case studies. The findings provide insight into how Hoshin Kanri is practiced in world class organizations today. I studied the literature on Japanese Hoshin Kanri practices and identified sixteen characteristics: Led by Senior Executives; Formal Annual Process; Long-Term Horizon; Linked to Strategic Management Activities; Focused on Improving Quality/Cost/Delivery/Safety/Morale; Deployment of Objectives and Strategies; Rigorous Application of the PDCA Cycle; Widespread Involvement; Assignment of Responsibilities; Extensive Cross-Functional Activities; Intentional Alignment of Activities; Use of a Catchball Process; Use of Statistical Methods; Leads to Widespread Organizational Actions; Linked to Daily Management Activities; and Formal Periodic Reviews. These characteristics provide a framework for assessing the status of an organization’s Hoshin Kanri system. I created an emergent definition by synthesizing themes from the four cases: “Policy Deployment in India is a systematic annual process led by senior executives—and preceded by Strategic Management activities—for developing, deploying, and accomplishing objectives (ends) and strategies (means) through coordinated organization-wide activities and the rigorous application of the PDCA cycle.” Tune in again next month for more Hoshin Kanri findings. The full paper is available on this website by selecting the “RESEARCH” button on the Home Page.

Interesting Stories

I’m still thinking about the article by Kurt Eichenwald in the August 2012 issue of Vanity Fair magazine titled, Microsoft’s Lost Decade. The article is about Microsoft, but the inevitable comparison with Apple is skillfully made. According to Eichenwald, “In December 2000, Microsoft had a market capitalization of $510 billion, making it the world’s most valuable company. As of June it is No. 3, with a market cap of $249 billion. In December 2000, Apple had a market cap of $4.8 billion and didn’t even make the list. As of this June it is No. 1 in the world, with a market cap of $541 billion.” I found this next passage especially profound: “One Apple product, something that didn’t exist five years ago, has higher sales than everything Microsoft has to offer. More than Windows, Office, Xbox, Bing, Windows Phone, and every other product that Microsoft has created since 1975. In the quarter ended March 31, 2012, iPhone had sales of $22.7 billion; Microsoft Corporation, $17.4 billion.” It will be interesting to watch these two companies going forward.

Company News

There are still seats available for the Fourth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference which will be held October 16, 2012. The brochure is available by selecting the “ANNUAL CONFERENCE” button on the Home Page of this website.

Intriguing Reads

I sometimes buy a book for one chapter as was the case with the book titled, Rediscovering Japanese Business Leadership: 15 Japanese Managers and the Companies They’re Leading to New Growth by Yozo Hasegawa. Masahiro Sakane is the Chairman of the Board of Komatsu Ltd. and a recipient of the Deming Prize for Individuals in 2008. Chapter 12, Winning in the Workplace, provides a concise summary of the Komatsu strategy and his ideas on visualization, going to genba, and creating dantotsu (unique and unrivaled) products.

 

 

Newsletter – August, 2012

On My Mind

You wouldn’t know that economic growth has slowed in Asia by visiting Hong Kong. This Special Administrative Region of China is bustling with activity as visitors shop and construction workers operate their cranes. There are numerous luxury goods stores in Kowloon whose waterfront is a magnet for people who want their picture taken with the magnificent cityscapes in the background. The energy and optimism is noticeable. I was especially impressed with the innovation activities that are occurring at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology and the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks.

Interesting Stories

I toured several laboratories at the Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks where I noticed red and black notebooks at some of the work stations. This seemed strange—pen and paper used in high tech labs. The person who gave us the tour said the lab employees tried computer entry, but they thought it was too slow. They felt it was more efficient to make handwritten entries in notebooks. Will any of us be using pen and paper in five or ten years? Moving on to the Olympics in London . . . we were again privileged to witness Usain Bolt from Jamaica easily win the 100-meter and 200-meter sprints just as he did in Beijing in 2008. His performances were again inspiring. I wish he wouldn’t slow down near the end of his races so that we could get a better sense of “the wall” associated with sprinting performance. Perhaps a more interesting story concerns the Chinese hurdler Liu Xiang. He won the gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles in Athens in 2004. However, he had to withdraw from competition in 2008 in Beijing and 2012 in London due to injury and an unfortunate encounter with a hurdle. According to Bloomberg News (August 8, 2012), “Praise and compassion in China for hurdler Liu Xiang overwhelmed criticism . . .” Let’s hope he and Usain Bolt compete in Rio De Janeiro in 2016.

Company News

I presented my paper on The Application of Policy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri) in Indian Companies in Hong Kong on August 1, 2012 at the Asian Network for Quality Congress. The Fourth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference will be held October 16, 2012 at the BayView Event Center on the shore of beautiful Lake Minnetonka. There will be presenters from the Carlson School of Management, MN Department of Human Services, MN Department of Natural Resources, Nortech Systems, Cargill, Hormel Foods, 3M, Seagate Technology, Mayo Clinic, Loram Maintenance of Way, and The Toro Company.

Intriguing Reads

I’ve been searching for a book that explains the history of the Digital Age so that I might better understand information technology and social network developments and I’ve found it. The book titled, Computing: A Concise History by Paul E. Ceruzzi, details the historical events and key players from the invention of the early computers to the World Wide Web. The book is short, interesting, and supplemented nicely with pictures. This is a book I will refer back to frequently.

 

 

Newsletter – July, 2012

On My Mind

June 30 and July 1 represent the end of the first half of the year and the beginning of the second half for many companies. This transition period often involves a review of organizational performance and the development of predictions for what will happen the rest of the year. It can be a humbling time because we learn about the absurdity of some of our assumptions. We also are reminded how difficult it is to predict the future. “I didn’t see that coming!” Here are a few simple questions to guide the conversation: Which of our assumptions were wrong? Which events emerged that surprised us? Which of our predictions about the world came true? What are some likely scenarios for the rest of the year? This is a good time to revise our assumptions about the future and develop new likely scenarios. There might be a driving question at this mid-year point we need to answer. For example, Apple is in the process of answering this question: “Should we launch a smaller iPad?” This is not an easy question to answer because Steve Jobs was known to be opposed to the idea and it could be viewed as a “follower” strategic move (Financial Times, July 7-8, 2012). Best wishes to those who are starting the second half of their year. I hope you are able to accomplish your 2012 objectives.

Interesting Stories

I took my introductory statistics class in college thirty years ago and it was taught by Dr. Felix Hsia. He showed us how to manipulate the sum of squares in order to re-express it in an alternative form. The sum of squares is a building block expression that is fundamental to many statistical techniques. We repeatedly drilled on this conversion process which seemed pointless at the time. However, I can still do it thirty years later and it provides me with insight into what is happening behind the scenes of some statistical analyses. This is different than using a mouse to “point and click” or using a touch pad on a screen. We have gained so much with new information technology products over the past few years, but we might also be losing some important capabilities.

Company News

There are seats still available for the Advances in Hoshin Kanri public seminar to be held August 15, 2012 at the Crowne Plaza in Plymouth, MN. Please contact me at caliedtke@aol.com for a detailed brochure. The Fourth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference will be held October 16, 2012 at the BayView Event Center on the shore of beautiful Lake Minnetonka. There will be presenters from the Carlson School of Management, MN Department of Human Services, MN Department of Natural Resources, Nortech Systems, Cargill, Hormel Foods, 3M, Seagate Technology, Mayo Clinic, Life Time Fitness, and The Toro Company.

Intriguing Reads

Social networks are starting to play an important role in some organizations in the accomplishment of strategic objectives. The book titled, An Executive’s Primer on the Strategy of Social Networks by Mason A. Carpenter, provides a nice introduction to the topic and the primary concepts, tools, and techniques. I especially liked the “Network Terms and Measures” section in the Appendix. If you give this short book a read, then you will soon be conversing with ease on social network concepts such as ties, connectors, distance, centrality, and density. It could one day help you accomplish your strategic objectives.

 

Newsletter – June, 2012

On My Mind

Leaders of organizations periodically develop and deploy objectives to address strategic issues and move the organization towards the vision. Three of the more popular systems historically for doing this have been Management By Objectives (MBO), the Balanced Scorecard, and Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment). QCDSM is a framework that is commonly used in Hoshin Kanri to structure the development and deployment of objectives The framework originated in Japan several decades ago. Q = Quality; C = Cost; D = Delivery (Quantity & Schedule); S = Safety (Physical or Business Risk); and M = Morale (Employee). You can re-arrange the letters to reflect your organization’s priorities. For example, I like the sequence SQDMC. Then you can ask fellow employees the question, “Can you think of any ideas to perform our work safer (S), better (Q), faster (D), happier (M), or cheaper (C)?” Some organizations emphasize speed and/or cost, but generally you should focus on mastering safety and quality first before you focus on performing your work faster and cheaper. Cost reductions often are a natural result of safety, quality, and/or delivery-related improvements.

Interesting Stories

I recently visited a well-known fast food restaurant for breakfast and noticed a spiral-bound notebook lying open on the counter near the cash register. It looked like a baseball scorebook. Although it was upside-down from my perspective, I could read the title, “Daily Food Safety Checklist.” The page had dozens of empty boxes waiting for hand-written entries. The shift manager eventually came over and entered information into some of the boxes with a pen. She took her time and her penmanship was superb. I sensed that she took this task very seriously given her level of concentration and the great care she took in making the entries. It was a low-tech, manual process like the traditional scoring of a baseball game. I was impressed and felt more comfortable with the food I was about to consume. Their notebook might eventually be replaced with an iPad or some other device, but it is serving a useful and valuable function today.

Company News

The Advances in Hoshin Kanri public seminar has been scheduled for August 15, 2012. It will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Plymouth, MN. A detailed brochure is now available (contact me at caliedtke@aol.com). The Fourth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference has been scheduled for October 16, 2012 at the BayView Event Center on the shore of beautiful Lake Minnetonka. The speaker list is nearly complete, but as of now there will be presenters from the Carlson School of Management, MN Department of Human Services, MN Department of Natural Resources, Nortech Systems, Cargill, Hormel Foods, 3M, Seagate Technology, and The Toro Company.

Intriguing Reads

Japan continues to play an important role in the global economy. It is home to numerous world class companies and has the third largest economy in the world. However, it is facing many challenges including those related to nuclear power, demographics, and exchange rate fluctuations. The book, Reimagining Japan: The Quest for a Future That Works, edited by McKinsey & Company, contains contributions from more than 80 leading thinkers from a variety of fields. One of my favorite sections was titled, “See the Big Picture, Mind the Details,” by Masahiro Sakane, Chairman of Komatsu. Komatsu’s focus on corporate value, which they define as ‘the total sum of trust given to us by society and all stakeholders,” is quite profound.

 

Newsletter – May, 2012

On My Mind

Conducting an employee performance review can be a difficult task for leaders at any level of an organization. The study I just completed on Hoshin Kanri (Policy Deployment) generated numerous insights on how to improve organizational performance from a strategic perspective. One interesting emergent cultural theme was the ability to give and receive criticism during a performance review. During the annual Hoshin Kanri process, employees are assigned responsibilities for objectives, strategies, and/or actions plans and then later progress is reviewed. The review conversation can be difficult if progress is not satisfactory because it suggests some type of a performance gap. Three aspects of the Hoshin Kanri review conversation appear important: (1) clarifying the aim of the review—such as to learn as much as we can and reach consensus on a positive way forward, (2) having the superior (boss) provide constructive criticism to the subordinate, and (3) having the subordinate be open to suggestions for improvement. Ideally, the nature of a Hoshin Kanri review should reflect a respect for people and be conducted in the spirit of improvement and employee development—not to judge a subordinate as good or bad. Organizations could benefit by training managers on how to conduct effective reviews.

Interesting Stories

Jamie Moyer, baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies, recently became the oldest player to win a Major League Baseball game at the age of 49. He is having a respectable season so far—relying more on his experience and craftiness than how fast the ball moves towards home plate once it leaves his hand. A professional in any field of endeavor needs to think deeply about retirement at some point in time. Should I retire? Fortunately, for those of us who enjoy baseball or a good career longevity story, Jamie Moyer said “not yet.”

Company News

My research paper titled, The Application of Policy Deployment (Hoshin Kanri) in Indian Companies is finished and will be presented in early August in Hong Kong at the Annual Asian Network for Quality Congress. The Advances in Hoshin Kanri public seminar has been scheduled for August 15, 2012. It will be held at the Crowne Plaza in Plymouth, MN. A detailed brochure is now available (contact me at caliedtke@aol.com). The Fourth Annual Advanced Strategic Improvement Practices Conference has been scheduled for October 16, 2012 at the BayView Event Center on the shore of beautiful Lake Minnetonka. A detailed brochure will be posted in June.

Intriguing Reads

It was hard for me to put down the book titled, The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation by Jon Gertner. Bell Labs was AT&T’s research and development organization from the 1920s to the 1980s. It developed a reputation for being one of the best “invention producing” laboratories in the world. The author describes the history of Bell Labs and its scientists in a very interesting and readable way.